Winter's Gem
by ReachingForDarkness
Summary: There's a secret in the Forest of Winter. Whispers are going around saying that a group of people are searching for the Winter's Solstice in the Ningenkai. This is where Shimo enters. She's an ice fox demon with a horrible habit of stealing artifacts that aren't hers. But unlike the ice demons, she can't stand the heat in the Ningenkai. So imagine what happens when she meets Hiei.
1. Chapter 1: A Frosty Beginning

**Chapter One: A Frosty Beginning**

Running. That was all I seemed to be doing anymore. Well, running and hiding; but I had good reason for the latter. Not to mention the fact that I was growing way too warm for my liking.

A spear came flying passed my body and sliced open my cheek a little, waking me up enough to send me running faster. I bit the inside of my lip as a bullet clipped the top of my ear. Thinking back on it, I really shouldn't have stolen that jewel from a wolf demon- who knew how to track anyone. But it had been just sitting there, waiting for me to take it!

Finally finding a tree, I raced up to one of the more covered branches and cowered down while regaining my breath. I prayed that my scent was masked well enough and my energy was nearly undetectable for the wolf demon as he appeared below the tree.

His silver hackles were raised as his elongated snout sniffed the ground for me, though I knew he wasn't going to find me so easily. I was just recovering the last of my breath when I felt his energy begin to spike. That meant he caught my scent and was guessing I lurked up in the tree.

"I'll chase you until you give me that stone, wench!" The wolf howled while leaping up at me.

I growled and pushed off the tree branch, narrowly getting missed by fangs and claws. I hit the ground and took off running once again. The grass underneath my paws gave way to pavement but I had to keep running. Originally, I was being chased through the Makai, but at some point we had slipped through an illegal portal. That leads to where we are now: the Ningenkai.

I turned my head back when the demon threatened that he'd rip off my head if I didn't stop running.

"You think I'm stupid or something? You'll do that either way!" I yelled before my eyes caught sight of an abandoned building.

I took off in that direction without pausing and slipped through a crack in one of the windows. I was glad that it was night out or else humans would see a little animal being chased by a very scary monster for no reason. I jumped on top of several boxes and safely landed on the very top of the building. I took a moment to take a deep breath before pulling out a glowing icy blue stone. I shoved it in a hideaway spot where the wolf demon wouldn't be able to see it.

And just in time too, because the demon came tearing into the building with a nasty howl. I looked down at him with a glare and walked over the beams to keep away from the jewel.

"You finally caught up to me! Good job!" I praised mockingly from where I was.

The wolf looked up at me and immediately leaped from the ground up to get to me. I jumped off the beam I stood on and landed on the demon's head leisurely. His claws came tearing towards me and I swiveled out of the way. My fangs sank into his neck and I heard him howl in pain.

"You'll pay for that, wench!"

A clawed hand smacked me across the face and I yelped while falling to the ground. I managed to land safely and my hackles rose dangerously high with a snarl. The temperature in the building dropped drastically as my blood began to drip at my paws.

"How dare you… You marred my face! That is unforgiveable!" I snapped as a cold fog grew around me.

The wolf looked around in worry before his eyes fell on me in slits. I had a feeling that he realized I was the one causing the decrease and freeze in the building. But I wasn't going to say anything at the moment. He suddenly came running at me and that gave me no choice but leaping out of the way and nipping at his ankles. I didn't see the other foot swinging at me until a pained kick to my flank connected.

My body went rolling before my head slammed into one of the walls. I was dizzy and nearly blind for a moment when the next attack came. He appeared in front of me and raised his claws for a finishing strike.

"Ha, I'll kill you and find my snow gem before those stupid Spirit Detectives even get word of us! Any last words before you die?" The wolf growled out.

I shook my head to clear the hit and then my eyes glared at the demon with a smirk. He had paused to blab to me over unimportant things- something that he would realize was his downfall.

"I don't intend to die just yet. There's someone I've got to visit first, and then I simply must see all that this world has to offer! For that, your snow gem will be mine permanently after you freeze to death."

The wolf hesitated and stared at me questioningly when I leaped up and sank my fangs deep into his throat. Using that same energy that brought a cold fog around me, ice ran through my teeth and straight into the wolf demon. I could feel his body temperature slowly going down to my own heat but I didn't release him until frost appeared throughout the flesh. That was how I knew he was going to be knocked out for some time.

I stared down at the wolf to make sure he was still breathing and when I was positive he remained alive, I jumped back up to where I had put the stone. Just as I was doing that, my ears twitched at the sound of others coming. I froze and remained still while suppressing my energy right down to nothing. My scent was something I couldn't hide, but I hoped no demons were close by for that.

"Are you sure this is the building Koenma said they went into?"

"I believe so. It is the only abandoned building close by."

"Then what are we waiting for? Let's go on in right now!"

I heard someone get thwacked pretty hard and they made a noise because of it. Screaming and other insults came out and I took that moment to grab the snow gem and tuck it into the tiny bag that was held around my throat. After that was done, I began my search for a way out.

A soft growl rumbled from my throat when there weren't any windows close by for me to jump through. I glanced above me in hopes that there was something there for me. Sadly, the result I got was the same.

"That leaves me with the window I went through the first time down on the ground. Damn it, why didn't I just sneak into a stupid human's home instead?" I growled to myself before tightening the muscles in my body to jump to one of the boxes.

"Kuwabara, knock it off! Koenma said that we need to capture both demons because one is a thief and the other is a black market dealer."

I frowned at those words. The last time I had checked, I wasn't a thief and I was most certainly not a black market dealer. Though I guess I did take and never return tons of things. All things considered, I had always thought of myself as a murderer because I had killed some demons- maybe three every month or so? But over half of those were on accident because they were situations like this one! I heard the door to the building begin to open and I cursed in my head for getting distracted.

I scrambled towards the boxes that I had used to make my way down and I prayed that I made it before the door completely opened so I was seen. My paws were just landing on the last box near the window when I felt eyes on me. I knew I had been spotted in that instant as a rise in spiritual energy caused me to shiver.

"Back away from that window." My ears twitched at the sound because I sensed a threat in the words.

I growled my own threat back while my hackles rose just enough to be noticed. But even though I was told to back off, I remained where I was stubbornly. I stared at the four people coming through the door in hopes that I'd recognize at least one of them. But I didn't have even an inkling of familiarization in any of the four.

Then, the most human looking one stepped forward. He was wearing a blue jump suit and had orange hair and black eyes. I growled again in warning and prepared to make the room grow cold once more. It annoyed me to have to get ready to do that again because my body was dependent on what temperature was around. Doing it a second time told me that I wasn't going to last much longer here.

"Urameshi, it's just a little kitty. She's not gonna bite us or-"

"Fool."

I glanced at the shortest one of them all to find that he had just closed his lips. My eyes may have lingered a little too long on him because a blast of spiritual energy sparked at my paws. I yelped in surprise and jumped back from where I had been standing, only to slam into several heavy boxes. I heard them swaying above me and I cast my eyes upwards to find that they were all tumbling down towards me.

I didn't understand how because I had barely touched the boxes but I didn't put much thought into it. As the heavy packages came crashing to the ground around me, I took that moment to jump through the window. Hopefully the confusion would keep them from figuring out where I had gone for the time being as I scrambled to get away from the building.

"I'll have to slip into a nearby portal to get away- if I'm lucky to find one!" I grumbled as my paws took me back in the direction I had come. "With some luck, the one from before might still be open!"

I knew better than to say that out loud but I couldn't resist it. A chilling fog came out of me when I heard someone pursuing me. How they knew I'd slip out using the chaos around me was beyond my comprehension at the moment. The only thing I understood was that if I got captured, the snow gem would be lost to me for quite some time and I'd probably have to get another one.

Knowing this, I made the fog grow thicker and colder as I scrambled up a tree- it was actually the same one as before but I didn't notice at the time. My entire body was still but I continued to produce the fog and I made it colder each time I had to. This helped me stay at my near freezing temperature as well as keep the pursuers from getting too close. I was just slowing down my breathing when the first voice was captured by my ears.

"Kuwabara, if you go any farther you'll become a frozen popsicle! Sit your ass down and wait for us here!"

"No way Urameshi! I'm not going anywhere until I know that kitten is safe."

"You do realize that was not a cat. Kittens don't run as fast as she did."

"Well either way, I'm not leaving. Besides, Hiei is with us and he's keeping the cold away."

I growled inwardly at that. This explained why they were able to still move through my fog without freezing like that wolf demon. A fire demon was with them. They nullified any blast of cold I could send their way unless I got the upper hand- which was pretty hard to do for me. And because there was no way for me to get a surprise attack, I had no choice but to run for it once more. I dropped to the ground shockingly right in front of the group and they seemed as startled to see me as I was to see them.

We stood staring at each other for the moment and I smirked just enough to be seen. I already knew it seemed awkward on an animal so it only made it worse when I started snickering.

"Uh, is that really just an animal?" The orange haired man asked stupidly.

No one seemed inclined to tell him the answer so I didn't bother doing it either. All eyes remained on me even as I raised one of my front paws to step back.

"Okay, since no one is moving, I'll do it!" An older teen with slicked back hair stepped forward and he pointed a finger at me in a gun manner.

I sensed that he was powering up and I growled. Without warning, I blasted the four of them with the coldest fog my energy could create at the moment. The fire demon was hit by it first and I took off the second it had been released in hopes of getting a pretty good head start. I heard someone screaming to follow me and I forced my paws to stomp faster.

My ears didn't detect anyone chasing me yet so I was in luck as the portal came in sight. It had shrunk since the last time I had seen it and that meant Koenma was trying to close it, most likely on the other side. Cursing myself, I spun right on my heel and ran in the direction to the left of the portal.

This way led to more forest, but I knew of a temple in that direction. And the temple was well cared for by an old human I knew well. Just then, a human shape appeared in front of me. I managed to leap inches passed them and because we were in close proximity, the parts closest to me became incased in ice.

It didn't immediately melt so I knew that this male was not the fire demon- though he did have a fox odor so that was what I assumed was his demon. I glanced back at him to find that he had collapsed because he couldn't move his leg- which was frozen because of me. My paws took off once more as I silently apologized to him. I hadn't meant for him to get iced like that or at all. But that was what happened when people got too close.

"And that's why I took the snow gem! So I could easily get closer to others and not affect them like this." I grumbled as the forest around me darkened.

The hairs all over my body raised in warning that something very dangerous was here. By just looking around I couldn't tell where or who it was, but I knew for a fact that it was following me and matching my pace. That was something I did not like. Not many could match how fast I was going at the moment. Without a pause, I began to increase my speed when I caught the scent of the temple I had been heading towards.

My tail wagged just a little in excitement as I pushed myself to my limit. Whoever was following wasn't going to be able to keep up if I ran as fast as I could. I felt the presence starting to slow down but if it was because they couldn't keep up, I had no idea at the time. The bushes in front of me snagged at some of my fur but I didn't object as I finally made it to the temple.

I jumped onto one of the stone steps of the garden and collapsed right there, breathing heavily. I had no idea how long I stayed in that position, but I knew when someone appeared before me. The shock was clearly written in the air and I twitched both of my ears before looking up. The elderly human was more than surprised to see me and I slowly stood up on my four paws.

"Hello Genkai. Sorry for barging into your house like this, but I got chased around by a wolf demon and some stupid humans that had two demons with them. I had nowhere else to go and this was the only place I thought of that I'd be safe." I explained to her.

She must have found something humorous about what I said because I saw the smirk on her lips and the barely contained laugh her shoulders vibrated with. I waited until her laughter ceased before I began to ask her why she had done that.

"Hey, old bat! Where are ya?" A voice screamed from the direction I had just come.

"Urameshi that's rude! You don't even know if she's here!"

"Can it, Kuwabara. She's here, I can sense her."

I growled to myself because if I was hearing their voices that meant that they had followed me out here. I managed to stumble around on my paws and continued to sway back and forth. This told me that I was barely able to stay standing and wouldn't for very long. I started making my way away from the temple when the door behind Genkai opened slowly.

"Ex-Excuse me, Genkai… Did I hear Kazuma?" My ears twitched at the vaguely familiar voice and I turned my head just enough to see who spoke.

I immediately saw a red eyed ice demon with greenish blue hair tied behind her back in a crimson ribbon. She was wearing a pure blue yukata and looking at her, I saw that her eyes had widened exponentially at the sight of me. My tail swished back and forth softly and I smiled at her.

"Hello, Yukina. Long time no see. I take it you have missed me?" I asked teasingly.

The smile that came bursting forth from the ice demon's face was so wide I swore her head would tear itself apart. I noticed tears of happiness beginning to pool out of those red eyes and the liquid began dropping as her Hiraseki Stones. I started stuttering to try to figure out how to calm her down when she rushed towards me. Genkai moved out of the way and watched the scene in front of her as Yukina snatched me off the ground.

"Oh it's so good to see you again, Shimo! You've been gone from the ice apparition home for so long we thought you were dead!" She cried with tears still running down her face.

I squirmed against her grip because I could hardly breathe. I tossed my head back and pushed at her arms with my front paws as hard as I could without harming her. She didn't take the hint and I opened my mouth to tell her to let go when the four that had been chasing me appeared on the grass. I ceased moving the second they appeared and I saw all of their eyes on me.

Yukina noticed my stillness and she looked to where I was staring to find the four of them. I inwardly cursed because she still had tears falling down her face. It probably didn't help that her stones were in a small pile at her feet and led from where she had been previously standing.

I struggled to explain myself when the orange haired one came running up to the two of us. I felt him grab me by the scruff of my neck and he yanked me from Yukina's grip. She stared in surprise as I glared at the idiot. Before he had opened his mouth to say anything, I had already slammed one of my back paws into his face.

The cold emanating from my body frosted his face and he was forced to release me. I dropped to the ground and had just enough strength to crawl towards Yukina before my paws finally gave out. Luckily, I was facing the four so if they tried to get me, I could easily chill them right to the very core.

"Kuwabara, what are you trying to do?" Yukina asked softly as she reached down to pick me up.

"Wait-! Don't touch that fox, Yukina!" One of the demons warned, which the ice demon obeyed hesitantly.

I glared up at all four of them but I didn't try to move from my spot. I would only wear myself out even more and I couldn't allow myself to do that just yet. The better looking human stepped closer to me than the orange haired one did and I growled in a threatening manner. When he didn't listen, I began to freeze the air around me. Yukina wouldn't be affected since she was an ice demon, but I knew everyone else would.

"If you step any closer, you're asking for it, Yusuke." The red head warned lightly. "She lowers the temperature around her to well below freezing. The only one that can actually grab her is Yukina or Hiei."

This caused the human to stop his forward motion and I smirked at him. Just once seeing my move and he had it figured out almost completely. I noticed the fire demon stepping towards the black haired human and I took a chance to look back at Genkai. The way she stood told me that she wasn't going to help either of us, but she would sit and watch to see what happened.

The moment I had turned my head, I felt searing heat reaching for me. I knew immediately that it was the fire demon and I whipped my head around and clamped my fangs over one of his hands. Without waiting at all, I poured pure ice straight into him. I had to be sure that it was colder than average just so it affected the demon. He pulled away and I let it happen because it was already too late. He was affected by my ice and I knew it.

"Damn, you sure know how to chill a room!" The black haired human commented. I growled at him and flicked my tail, the only thing besides my head that was able to move.

"We are outside you stupid human. I can't freeze a room from this distance. Your head would have to suffice." I barked out.

Everyone but Yukina, the fire demon, and Genkai stared down at me in shock then. I was quick to realize that it was because I hadn't spoken to any of them since they had been chasing me from the building. I rolled my eyes and looked towards the ice demon. She understood without any words and she reached for me once again. No one stopped her this time as I felt her healing my tired body with her demonic energy.

"And now that I've finally insulted one of you, would you mind telling me why you chased me all the way here? Last I checked, I did nothing wrong." I remarked.

When no one said anything to me, I growled and looked up at them. My eyes widened when I found that no one had the words to speak to me. They were still in shock that I could speak. I growled out my annoyance as Yukina got my attention.

"Maybe… If you weren't so mean they'd listen to you, Shimo." She said softly.

My ears twitched and I scoffed at the idea. If I listened to that comment, I wouldn't have survived for as long as I have. Thanks to Yukina's healing powers, I was finally able to get to my paws. And that was all I needed at the moment.

"Well, if I have to repeat myself one more time, I won't be very happy." I said as the air chilled just a little to keep my body cooled down. "But either way, I'll be leaving when I choose to."

One of the demons- the fire one –made a noise that I knew was meant to insult me. I glared at him while rubbing the tiny bag that was irritating my fur. Glancing down at my paw, I found that some of my hair was falling out. I bit my tongue to keep from growling and I slipped the bag from my neck. But just to be sure that no one was going to try to snatch it from me, I placed the leather under my stomach and stayed as close to the ground as possible.

"Are you implying that you think you'll get out of this temple?" He asked slowly.

"Oh, I'm not implying, I'm saying that I will. You and the others have no say in what I choose to do."

"Does that mean you are going to leave again, Shimo?" Yukina asked me solemnly.

I turned my head and was about to give her my answer when everyone but her and Genkai said that I was going to be forced to stay here. I whipped back around and growled angrily as the hackles on my fur began sticking out in a quiet warning.

"I will leave if I damn well want to! Even if you chase me back to the portal, I know I'll always be faster." I yelled at them all while pawing at the strings on my bag unconsciously.

"Sorry, but that portal has been gone since you left it the second time. You're trapped at this temple until you explain what is going on." The red head told me.

"I don't have to explain myself! I came to the Ningenkai to get away from that freaking wolf demon who started chasing me for no reason! But it's no skin off my fur if I'm stuck here for a few days. That just means I get to spend time with Yukina again."

"You realize that you just told us what you were doing here?" The fire demon muttered. The chill that had wrapped around my body immediately dropped the temperature around all of us as I glared at him warningly.

"Watch it. My ice is still coursing through your veins no matter how heated you get. One move from me and you'll be frozen solid for several hours. Your fire will do nothing to melt it unless I choose it." I said before I snatched the bag from the ground.

Without another word, I began dragging it towards the inside of the temple. Genkai leisurely stepped out of my way and Yukina began to follow in case I needed help. I heard someone step onto the wood porch and my hackles rose again before I looked back. The red head stared back at me and his emerald eyes silently questioned if he could come closer.

I smirked at the other foxes eagerness and I turned away from him to focus almost my complete attention on moving the bag. I heard him move all the way onto the temple floor and the others slowly did the same, though they did so wearily. Yukina eventually picked up the bag and carried it to one of the spare rooms the temple had. Thankfully a bed was already in there so I didn't have to do much with it.

"So, if I may ask, what is in this?" The ice demon asked. I grinned at her and she handed me the bag. She always loved when I brought new things, even if I did happen to steal them and no one knew it.

"It's a snow gem! That way, when I'm anywhere away from my home, I don't have to constantly radiate a cold that freezes everyone but you. All I have to do is either wear it around my neck or place it in my room and it will instantly change the temperature to a cool negative fifty degrees!"

"Oh wow, that's amazing Shimo. I've heard snow gems are hard to come by for us ice apparitions."

"Well, it wasn't easy finding it; that was for sure! Sneaking into that wolf demon's home was like taking a walk- it was running away from those four that all my energy was put into!"

I realized my mistake when Yukina frowned at me. She usually never showed such an expression, but I was a different case. For reasons I wasn't going to explain at the moment, though.

"Shimo, you stole this didn't you?" She asked in a slow tone that told me she expected the truth. I sighed because I knew that if I didn't tell her the truth, I wouldn't be well accepted here anymore. And I didn't want that.

"…Yes, I stole it from the wolf demon. He found out and came chasing after me relentlessly, which landed us in the position I'm now in." I said.

Yukina gave me one last frown before she sighed in defeat. I knew she had forgiven me then and my tail wagged slightly in appreciation. She always understood when it came to something like this. That was why I usually visited her as much as I could- not to mention that I liked her. She was one of the few friends that didn't leave me.

I started to tell her all different sorts of things when someone walked towards the door. My ears twitched and we both turned to see who was ruining our free time. It didn't surprise at all when I found that it was the other fox demon. His emerald eyes sparkled in interest when he noticed the snow gem in Yukina's hands.

"Is that a snow gem?" He asked.

I stared at him in silence while trying to figure out if I should give him an honest answer. If I answered truthfully, I might not like the outcome that came with it. But if I lied, well, I couldn't figure out what would happen to me. Surprisingly, Yukina looked towards the fox demon and smiled.

"Yes, Shimo took it from that wolf demon you were chasing. But she has yet to explain why." The ice demon said.

I forced a growl and my hackles to stay lowered so I opted to glare at her. But even that went by unfazed by both demons. My tail twitched in annoyance before I gave up and scratched at my ear that suddenly began to itch.

"I'd rather not explain myself until I know I can trust these guys." I replied honestly.

Yukina's red eyes flickered in confusion, but I knew that she understood somewhat. Glancing at the red head, I could see that he felt the same way. His gaze lingered on the snow gem and I stepped protectively over it but remained calm- for the most part. He noticed my subtle warning and returned his focus to my body.

"Is that what you look like always?" He questioned.

"No," I scoffed. "But I'll show you what I really look like when I feel like I can trust you all."

And with a flick of my tail, I tucked the snow gem back in the bag and bit down on the cloth. I swung towards Yukina, who took the bag into her hands, and then I danced across the floor to go to the door the other fox was standing by. He watched me slipped passed him as I went up to Genkai, who seemed to be talking to the slick-backed teen.

"And now that you seem to be over your initial shock, care to explain why you were really chasing me and that wolf demon? I mean, I know I'm a thief and all, but Koenma hasn't told anyone to capture me after all these years. There's no point in him doing that now." I said while scratching one of my ears.

"You would be surprised, Shimo. I'm not as tolerant with you as I used to be."

The new voice had my fur on end even before I turned towards one of the doors that led outside. I found the teen looking down on me from his pacifier and it still looked stupid even back when I last saw him. Though his brown hair might have gotten darker and his eyes more mature- but that was just me speaking.

"And why would that be?" I growled out to him.

He took his time answering and I pawed at the ground restlessly while tapping one claw against the wood. Everyone took it as a hint to not drive my patience- but very few of them knew that I had little to none on some days.

"Well… Because you never told me you stole the Winter's Bane." Koenma answered.

I glared at the prince and started to say something when a heat wave rolled over my body. I already knew that it was the black haired demon so I turned to snap at him when another blast of warmth hit me. Being used to freezing temperatures, the attacks were too much for me- even if they weren't intentional. The room began to darken and I struggled to stay awake to create a cold fog to surround myself. It wasn't working and by the next wave, I fell onto my side.

"Damn it, I'll get you for that." I growled only moments before I slipped away from the world.


	2. Chapter 2: The Two Day Bet

**Chapter Two: The Two Day Bet**

Something cold to the touch came in contact with my entire body when I finally woke up. My eyes opened to find that I was in someone's arms and they were radiating the normal freezing temperature most demons couldn't handle. I recognized the scent to be Yukina's and my tail thumped slightly at the fog I started creating.

"Hey, that means she's waking up, right Yukina?" I heard the ice demon giggle a little and stroke my fur gently, causing another thump of my tail to be heard.

"Yes. She is waking up, Kazuma."

My ears twitched as someone else approached Yukina and me. They didn't stop moving so I opened both of my eyes to find that it was Koenma, who cringed at my look of annoyance. The fog thickened and became colder as he backed a good distance away from us. I slowly raised my head and shook myself to wake up completely.

"I'd be careful Koenma. My fog will freeze even you if you get too close." I warned lightly.

He realized that it was a mild threat as I hopped down from Yukina's lap, which she didn't object to verbally. I padded forward before a pair of legs got in my way in each direction. I looked up to find that it was the group that had chased me to this temple. A growl slipped out of my lips and my hackles rose wearily.

"Get out of my way." I ordered and the one facing me grinned.

"No way in hell." He stated.

The muscles in my legs bunched up tightly as I prepared to spring above all of them. I wasn't sure who noticed but I didn't care. If I wanted them to move, I'd rather they get out of my way before I hurt them.

"The same fog applies to the four of you, if you hadn't thought of that." I warned. "And at this close of range, even that demon's heat won't be enough to ward off my cold."

I felt the higher temperature nudge against the ends of my fur and I stomped one of my front paws hard. A wave of cold tore from my body and hit everyone in the room. Ice appeared on inanimate objects, and frost touched the clothes around me. Koenma made a shivering noise before he dusted the frost off of himself lazily.

"Alright Shimo, stop showing off. I really need you to get serious for me." Koenma told me.

I twitched both of my ears in annoyance but I called the wave of cold back to my body. It came without complaint as I hopped back onto Yukina's lap. She began brushing down my hairs softly as I licked at my paws to clean them.

"I'll tell you what you want to know," I began with a grin. "If you explain why you sent these… dummies to chase me first."

"Hey! What are you calling us that for?" One of the four shrieked at me.

I glared at the orange haired one for saying that and he was silenced immediately by it. My tail thumped from side to side leisurely as I scratched one of my ears roughly because of a vicious itch.

"I'm only stating the truth. I absolutely hate demons and humans that follow the orders of Koenma. The four of you are fools for chasing after me when I'm sure you don't have an idea of who I am and what I do." I remarked.

Deadly silence entered the room as I noticed that the shortest demon was beginning to draw his sword. Despite all the work Yukina did, my fur began to rise wearily. If he was going to attack, I planned on freezing him right where he stood. Koenma noticed both of our intentions and he sighed a little.

"Well, you were never known for being nice," He muttered while rubbing his forehead. "I sent Yusuke and his team to find you because you took something that was never meant to come across your hands."

My ears twitched worriedly as I cast my eyes to stare up at the prince. Judging from how serious his brown eyes were, he wasn't acting. He meant what he said. I finally cocked my head slightly to produce confusion while thumping my tail against the floor again.

"What wasn't I supposed to find? You do know that once I've taken something, I'm not likely to return it no matter what, right?" I asked Koenma.

"Yes, I realize that, Shimo. But this is something that if my father ever finds out, he'd destroy all of the worlds just to get it back."

"He can destroy them all for I care. He'll never find me and he won't get whatever it is back if we all die." I countered.

Koenma gritted his teeth behind his pacifier and I smirked a little because I knew I was frustrating him. This was always the entertaining part of ever interacting with the prince. He got annoyed with me way too easily.

"You stole the Winter's Bane from the ice realm Shimo! Not only that, but you took the snow gem from one of my generals! It was supposed to be delivered to me." He grumbled.

My ears twitched in agitation and the room chilled once more. Everyone in the area felt it as I glared at the prince to show my anger.

"Well color my fur black! You know nothing of snow gems, do you?" I barked.

I flicked my tail and jumped back onto Yukina, where my bag was. She and everyone else watched me open the bag with my fangs and I slipped out the snow gem with the ice demon's help. Everyone was staring at the ice blue orb as I placed a paw on top of it.

"Snow gems are rare and only the rich ever have them- or thieves like me," I began while rolling it slowly, "They're used solely for the purpose of generating enough coldness for us ice apparitions to live outside of the ice realm. I stole this one because I needed it for… well, let's just say something very selfish."

I was stared at with wide expressions and I rolled my eyes at them. The snow gem continued to dance underneath my paw as I licked my lips. I hadn't eaten for some time now. My stomach was beginning to ache with pangs for hunger. Mostly for meat, but I wasn't truly that picky. I turned my head towards Genkai and she looked at me expectantly.

"Do we have any food? Last time, I had to go hunt just to survive here!" I exclaimed.

"Yukina went and stocked up a few days ago. Go check the fridge if you're that hungry." She retorted.

I groaned but hopped down from Yukina's lap as she held the snow gem in her hands. My paws danced across the wooden surface as I made my way to the kitchen. All eyes were on me so I flicked my tail lazily just to send a rush of cold in every direction. I heard several shiver from the chill but I merely smirked and made my way into the kitchen.

I spotted the white fridge and I raced towards it, but stopped short when I realized with my height, there was no way I could open the refrigerator. Growling in annoyance, I paced back and forth, debating on whether or not to shift my form. Before I had to come to a choice, a sound pricked my ears. Someone was opening the fridge door. My head turned to see that it was the orange haired human. He grinned down at me as my ears twitched in confusion at his actions.

"Can't have you running on an empty stomach now can we?" One of the others told me. I frowned at him but I hadn't really put much effort in it.

"Don't expect me to be all nice now that you are helping me get food. I maybe short now, but I'm smarter than you might think." I remarked while jumping into the fridge, sniffing out the meat I sought.

I heard snickering from one of the teenagers as I bit down on what looked to be raw steak. Without pause, I got out of the fridge and the orange haired boy shut it for me. My eyes glanced up at the boy with red hair that reeked of fox scent. He stared down at me with his green eyes and I didn't make a move at all. I became as still as a statue.

"Shimo, I don't know why you've come to the human realm, but you have to return to the Forest of Winter." Koenma said to me.

The raw meat fell from my jaws as I spun around and growled angrily with my hackles raised. This was taken as a threat and everyone but the prince, Yukina, and Genkai prepared to attack me if I struck. My teeth snapped together at one point and made a sharp clack together.

"I won't go back! I haven't gone for several hundred years. What makes you think I'll change my mind?" I barked.

"Maybe because I've got a Spirit Detective and his team here to force it on you if you don't comply." Koenma retorted.

My lips rose once again to reveal stark white teeth as the familiar ice cold fog appeared around all of us slowly. Even if it had just appeared, ice was starting to cling to several inanimate objects like the counter or the fridge.

"Have you forgotten that no matter who you send, I slip away from them? I'm not a fox for no reason!"

"But this time I have a fox demon, a fire demon, a half demon, and Kuwabara!"

If Koenma wasn't the prince of Spirit World, I would have ripped his throat out for that last sentence. He knew it too and that was the horrible part of it.

"I'm not the puny lower B class demon I was the last time we met." I muttered.

"If anything, you've become a high C rank now."

That was a low blow that damaged my pride. Koenma knew it even before I pushed off the ground and bit into his arm. My coldness swam into him from my fangs and before anyone could even try to grab me, I darted away and placed myself beside Genkai. I was glared at by nearly everyone and I scowled right back.

Hiei sent a burst of heat in my direction and I sped away and landed right against Yukina, who I knew wouldn't take kindly to being hit by a wave of high temperatures. And just like I thought, the fire demon wasn't going to touch either of us now.

"I don't take kindly to people insulting my rank. The cold should wear off within the day, Koenma. But by that time, you won't have a clue on where I am." I said while putting my bag around my neck once again.

"Well aren't you confident that we won't find you." The slick-backed teen stated.

"I know you guys won't find me. No one has ever seen me twice unless I wanted them to."

He grinned down at me at that point and then he kneeled down to my level while I reached out a paw and extended my claws to grab the steak I was starving for. But before I got it, the fire demon snatched it into his hands, which earned him a growl from me.

"Tell you what: You can go out and hide and if we find you before the week is up, you have to explain who you are and what you were doing in the Human World." He told me.

"And if you guys can't find me?" I questioned.

"Then Koenma leaves you alone no matter what excuse he cooks up."

"Yusuke don't say that! What if the Human World is threatened like it was with Toguro and Sensui? Shimo is a strong asset and would be perfect-!"

I barked at the ruler and he shut up almost instantly. I stared at him for a few seconds before turning back to stare at the boy Koenma had called Yusuke. My eyes traveled up and down in a manner that showed dislike. He smelled of half-demon, which meant he wasn't fully human or fully demon. But I had heard stories of the famous Yusuke Urameshi, stories that used to frighten me. Now, they just make me laugh.

"You all think you'll find and capture me in two days? Don't you know who you are speaking to?" I asked in a mocking tone.

"Um… a fox?" The orange one stuttered out.

I rolled my eyes and said, "Yes, a fox. And as one of you knows, we foxes tend to be very cunning and swift."

The red head nodded his head at my meaning. Yusuke and the others glanced at their fox as I turned to stare at Yukina. She was smiling at me but I knew that she understood what was going on. My tail flicked back and forth leisurely as I pawed at the bag around my throat again.

"After the two days, I'll come back here and we can hang out like we used to. Does that sound good?" I asked her.

"Oh yes, it sounds very good," She replied. "I hope the days pass swiftly then."

I smiled towards her and danced my way towards the edge of the house where the forest resided. I could feel everyone staring at me so I stopped while twitching both of my ears with a smirk growing on my lips.

"And if you think you can catch me off guard or in my human form, you are very wrong. I'm not stupid. I know exactly what I'm doing." I said before jumping down and racing off into the forest.


	3. Chapter 3: Burning Down

**Chapter Three: Burning Down**

"Shimo-chan! Where are you?" A feminine voice called out to me.

I groaned to myself and covered my ears with my paws, trying to quell the boisterous person. But they persisted and eventually walked into my room. There was silence for a moment and I started to relax when the female suddenly pounced onto my bed.

"Time to get up, Shimo-chan! School is real soon!" She cried.

I couldn't help but let out a scream and pop my eyes open. A rush of coldness started to creep out of me when the girl jumped off of my body, allowing me to get up with frantic eyes looking everywhere. The chill ran through the room and frosted some of the objects as I glanced around for the girl.

My eyes finally caught sight of the giggling girl as her blonde hair bounced in waves with her shaking shoulders. I growled at her and flopped face first back onto the bed to go to sleep. The laugh that came out grated against my ears and I opened them to bark at her.

"But Shimo-chan! I thought you were being hunted by the Spirit Detective and his group! They'll be coming here first and you need to go out and get moving- not to mention Steph needs some more food for us." She said before jumping on the bed once more in excitement.

"Then why the hell are you talking about me going to school? It's a Saturday for Christ's sake!" I exclaimed.

"So you'd get up, of course! Do you really want them finding you this easily?"

I growled to myself but tossed the blankets off of me and rolling out of the bed. Yawning a little, I glanced at the full body mirror to see that I was in my human form- at least, as human as a demon could get.

Stark black hair fizzed and flied in every direction- telling me how much I had been tossing and turning last night. My eyes, even from this distance, shimmered their frost-bitten blue and it didn't help that my human hair made them really stand out. My blue night shirt was rumpled at my thighs but I was glad that I had remembered last night to slip on some black short shorts in case someone walked in.

"Shimo-chan, are you going to go shopping for Steph?" I blinked out of my thoughts and turned to face the blonde haired girl.

"You sure they'll be coming here first?"

"Am I ever wrong?" She countered.

I rolled my eyes and didn't respond before walking out of the room. She called for me to wait up but I continued to move until I found the others conversing in the kitchen. Nearly all of them looked at me but I focused in on the one that I was looking for. Steph stared at me with a raised eyebrow that seemed out of place in her dyed pink hair and hazel eyes.

"Shimo, I see you had a late night. You didn't even come in until well past midnight." She said to me.

"Yeah, well, that tends to happen with me more often than I'd love to admit," I growled out before offering my hand to her. "And as much as I'd love to grill you about that, Hina told me that you wanted me to get some more food."

Steph's eyebrow fell down to glare at me but I ignored it. She knew better than to test my patience in the mornings- even if I had just woken up. Grumbling to herself, she reached into her bag and pulled out a slip of paper for me. She then shoved it in my hand before crossing her arms.

"Don't forget that I'm the one letting you stay here, Shimo. You need me more than I need you." She told me, which I rolled my eyes to.

Steph was always like this to me- mostly because I was a demon and she was a highly attuned human. She couldn't protect these teens from demons like me no matter how much she denied it. And even though she thought I needed her more, there were a ton of other places that I'd love to be at instead of here. But Hina was the reason I stayed. Every time I would begin to leave, she'd beg for me to hang about for her sake.

"I'll let you think that a bit longer." I said to her before turning and walking back to my room on the third floor.

Hina was waiting for me at the door to the room I was staying in and she smiled a little when she saw me. I moved passed her without a thought and began searching for a long sweater. The girl was watching me and then she giggled once again.

"Shimo-chan, it's not winter time for another few months! You have to wear something that won't get anyone's attention." She said to me.

"Your sun will melt what little ice I'm able to keep around me. It takes nearly all of my energy every night just to cool this room to the right temperature." I replied.

"But I thought your human body could stand the heat here? Or is it just that you're used to being in cold temperatures all the time?"

"Hina, you know the answer to that!" I growled while pulling a tank top that would come to settle above my knees.

I tore off my shirt and slipped that tank top on as she laughed my reaction- at least that's what I think she was doing. I couldn't understand this human more than she understood me.

"Well, just don't do anything stupid like… thinking about not getting caught- that's a good example. Or using your demonic energy to cool the air around you. They'll find you in an instant." Hina warned.

I glanced at her and nodded to show I'd listen. Unlike the other humans in this house, this one had so high of spiritual awareness that she could tell you if something bad was going to happen to you in the day. Never anything good- she hadn't perfected that one yet. But she still liked to try every now and then.

"I'll try to act as human as possible. I've lived around here enough to be able to do that much." I told her before opening up my window and pulling in all of the coldness from around the room.

I brought it straight into my body while making sure the snow gem was tied around my waist in the brown bag from last night. As long as that was near me, I wouldn't get cold as quickly as normal. Swinging my legs outside of the window, I glanced back to find Hina shaking her head and smirking to herself.

"She says she'll be as human as she can and she still jumps out the third story window!" The girl exclaimed.

I merely laughed before falling out of the room head first. No one down below seemed to notice as I twisted so my feet were pointed down to the pavement. When they hit, the bones in me screamed out in shock. I staggered forward but managed to stay upright and then I headed off to the store.

"I keep forgetting this body can't handle what my fox can." I muttered while walking inside.

The paper Steph gave me was still clenched tightly in my hand but I wasn't going to need it. That girl always had the same ingredients down, and I've had it memorized for some time now. My feet carried me to the produce section and when I glanced upwards to see who was there, I almost froze. Yusuke and his human friend were at the very end of the aisle.

I quickly averted my eyes and grabbed at the apples Steph wanted, which were the golden yellow kind. The smell wafted up to my nose and it had me crinkling it a little. Human shape or not, my nose and eyes never changed. That was what surprised me because I should have known the two boys' scents. I suddenly remembered Hina's warning and my mind went blank on last night.

Struggling to keep my thoughts void of yesterday, I grabbed a single red apple- my favorite kind –and started making my way downwards to the two boys. As I came closer in range, my human ears caught their words.

"So that fox, Shimo- are we even sure she's in Japan?" The orange haired one asked.

"Jeez Kuwabara, Koenma said that she wouldn't leave this area because she can't! Something or someone is keeping her from leaving Japan." Yusuke practically shouted.

I kept from rolling my eyes and reached over to grab a watermelon when I realized that I needed to get a basket to put everything in. For some reason, I always forgot to get one until at a time like this. My mouth opened to curse my luck when I found that silence was greeting my ears now. My black hair and ice blue eyes turned towards the boys to find that they were way closer than last time. It took me by surprise and the apples and cantaloupes slipped from my hands.

"Hey, careful!" Yusuke cried as he rapidly caught all that had fallen. "You need a basket if you're carrying so much of this."

I kept my eyes downcast as my feet stepped away. My mouth was muttering apologies before Kuwabara stepped between me and the half demon. I heard the cry of annoyance come from the lesser human as the orange one looked down at me.

"Would you like me to go get you a cart? Urameshi can help you get anything else you need." He suggested.

I brought my entire head up to reveal my eyes to show that I was surprised at that. I couldn't find words to speak so by the time I managed to start telling him no, Kuwabara had already gone off. Yusuke yelled after him and cursed, which made me flinch. He noticed though and stared down at me with an apologetic smirk.

"Sorry 'bout that. Kuwabara can be an idiot but he means well. I'm Yusuke, by the way." Urameshi told me.

I took that he wanted my name so I looked up at him and smiled politely. "I'm Steph. And it's okay, the two of you just startled me is all."

"Wow, I guess you jump at your own shadow sometimes, right?" He teased.

Before I replied to Yusuke, Kuwabara came back with a cart. On his face was a giant grin as he handed it to me. I said a quick thank you and the half demon put the apples and cantaloupe inside for me.

"Do you want us to carry those for you?" Kuwabara asked after I had gathered more of the foods that Steph wanted. I looked up at the two of them and smiled softly while heading towards the checkout.

"Why? Are you worried someone is going to rob me?" The silence from both boys gave me my answer and I frowned at them. "How mean you two are."

"It's not that," Kuwabara told me. "It's just that you're so pretty that any guy in their right mind would want to take advantage of you."

I wrinkled my eyebrows slightly as the cashier ringed all of the produce I got. Of all the words I didn't like, pretty was one of them. To me, it sounded like something a child would say to appease an adult when they got the kid a toy they weren't fond of. And then they'd throw it away when the parents forgot about it.

So when a male or female used the word pretty, I assumed that meant they didn't actually like the person and just wanted to be nice to them. Which in turn told me that Kuwabara didn't find me attractive and that pissed me off. I'm sure my demonic energy started flaring so I shoved it down quickly, but it didn't seem like it was fast enough. Yusuke glanced at something passed me and I had to hurry to distract him.

"If you insist on helping, I won't stop you guys. But you've gotta keep up with me. The people I live with are impatient if I'm even a second late." I told them as the lady told me the price.

I handed her just the right amount of money so I wouldn't get any change back as I grabbed two of the grocery sacks. When I glanced back, I saw that the boys each carried one sack each. They grinned at me when they saw me eyeing them with a quirked eyebrow.

"Kuwabara's use to me chasing him all over so we should be able to keep up with you." The half demon told me.

I rolled my eyes at his boasting as we walked outside of the store. Without saying a word, my feet began moving faster towards the direction I lived in. The wind hitting my face and nose told me that a demon had just appeared close to my territory, which was basically the home of Hina and the others.

"Well shit, this isn't good." I muttered while turning my head slightly.

It was no surprise to me that I found Yusuke and Kuwabara keeping up easily. I smirked a little and began picking up the pace, but I made sure to keep my demonic energy low so no one would think I was anything but human.

I heard Kuwabara complaining that Yusuke and I were moving too fast and I chanced a smirk while turning my head to the two boys. They immediately noticed as I quickened my pace even more than before.

"If you're whining now, you might as well not be following. I've had thugs coming at me faster than this." I leisurely called back just before the beginnings of smoke drifted up my nose.

This new scent halted my feet instantly and Yusuke nearly crashed heavily into me. He muttered something that I normally didn't like but I wasn't paying any attention to it. And it wasn't long before the orange haired human caught up to us.

"Huh? Why'd you guys stop? I wasn't really tired, I swear!" He cried, but I was ignoring him once again.

The smoke was growing stronger with each passing second and I started feeling my heart pulsing faster. Panic and worry were beginning to set in and even my nose could smell the emotions wafting off of me. One of the two boys asked if I was okay before I threw caution to the wind and spun towards them.

"Do you smell smoke?" I asked quickly while beginning to drop all my food in the bag on a bench.

"Smoke?" Yusuke repeated before he sniffed the air. "Now that you mention it…"

"Damn it. Kuwabara, sit here and watch the food. I'll be right back." I ordered before tearing off in the direction the smoke was in.

Kazuma screamed at me to come back but I didn't listen, even though Yusuke was racing after me. I heard him yelling and demanding to know what was wrong but I didn't reply as we neared where Hina and the others lived. I knew that this was the cause of a demon because my demonic energy was rubbed all over in certain places for others to notice. No human would be able to sense a different energy than their own and cause a fire for no reason.

"And because it's a demon, I'll find it and kill it without mercy." I growled out before turning the corner and finding the entire house in flames.

The fire department was there and everything, but my nose and ears told me that there were a couple of people still lurking inside because they couldn't get out. I noticed Steph and some of the others huddled together outside and I rushed over to them and they saw me coming- and probably felt me. I wasn't exactly dowsing my demonic presence anymore because of the nearness of the flames.

"What the hell happened here?" I growled out slowly at the blonde.

Her eyes told me that she was frightened as she stuttered out words I couldn't understand and this only pissed me off further. Despite being so near other humans, I reached out a hand and grabbed onto her collar tightly and yanked her close to my face.

"I won't say it again and I expect you not to stammer this time," I snarled as my fox fangs and claws started to come out. "What the hell happened? What demon attacked you guys?"

Steph still couldn't answer me so I shoved her back into her seat as a police officer came over to me. He placed a hand on my shoulder as he told me to calm down, which only fueled my rage further. A fox snarl tore out as I glared at the man and his human instincts must have screamed at him to back off because that was what he did.

"A… A white haired man… He came in and kept asking for the Winter's Solstice… When we told him we had no idea what that meant, he shot fire out of his hands!" One of the others- a red head named Natalie, actually –managed to say to me.

My ice blue eyes widened at the mention of the Winter's Solstice. No one from my memory fit the man that was described but that wasn't the important part of what was spoken. Dizziness suddenly came to me and I found myself collapsed onto my knees just as Yusuke came over with Kuwabara and the groceries in tow. Someone asked if I was alright but I didn't listen to them.

"After all this time, they're still searching for the Solstice in the wrong person…" I muttered to myself as I closed my eyes.

"What are you talking about, Shimo? Hina and a couple others are still in the building! You need to snap out of it!" One of the other teenagers screamed at me.

This woke me up enough to glance up at the building with a twitching nose. What they said was true, I could smell that Hina and two others weren't out here. My worry overcame the dizzy feeling I acquired as I got to my feet and took a calming breathe.

"This is going to really kill me but I'll try." I said to the teens that knew of my demonic side before my legs took off.

The normal cold that was around me immediately began heating up fast the closer I got to the flames but I didn't have a choice. I had made a promise to Hina that I'd always be there for her, and I wasn't going to go back on it now. All too quickly, the cool temperatures rose and my human body began getting uncomfortable for me.

I persisted though and slipped passed the firefighters that wouldn't go inside the burning building. It wasn't long after when I got in that I could hear Hina coughing heavily from one of the rooms that were blocked by the flames. A growl came from me even if I couldn't hear it and I took a deep breath.

"Never underestimate an ice demon- especially if I'm also a fox!" I barked to myself before exuding a wave of sheer coldness.

It chilled the fires around me down quickly- but the cost was nearly too much. If it weren't for the snow gem around my waist still, I probably would have passed out from exhaustion. My feet stumbled towards the door Hina was behind as I started growing weak in the legs. I had just made it to the door when the human opened it with awe in her eyes.

"S-Shimo-chan, did you do that?" She asked me as the other spiritually aware teens came out of the room with her. I let out a shaky breath before smirking at her tiredly.

"I never go back on a promise… Even to a human like you…" I whispered before my form started fizzing out of focus.

The blast of cold energy had taken too much from me apparently. I was too heated to keep my human form. My body shifted back into its meager fox state as Hina came over to me with a blanket that looked wet. She smiled at me while scooping me up in the cloth- which was just the right temperature of cold that would keep me from basically melting.

"I'm glad you at least like one of us humans then, Shimo." A boy commented as they walked me out of the blackened house.

"Yes, that's true. And if you're wondering, the blanket is cold because we soaked it in ice cold water to keep the flames from touching us. It's a way we prevent catching fire ourselves." A bookworm type of girl said to me with a smile.

I barely registered their words as I ducked my entire body under the blanket to cool off from the heat. The snow gem at my flank helped to hasten the temperature drop as I started slipping unconscious. But before I did, a thought occurred to me and I nudged Hina's stomach with my snout to get her attention.

"I don't care what lie you have to make up about the fire, but there are two boys out there that came here with me. I want you to walk right passed them when you can and take me straight to Genkai's temple. There's someone there I want to talk to." I told her.

"Okay, Shimo. Just go to sleep now, okay?"

Hina didn't need to even say that. After I had spoken, my eyes closed themselves and I was unconscious nearly instantly.


End file.
